


For As Long As I Live

by GraySonOfGotham



Series: Primordial Beings AU [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Death, Disappearance, Dysfunctional Family, Family Drama, Family Dynamics, Family Issues, Fate, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Grief/Mourning, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Resurrection, life - Freeform, rivalries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-06-13 07:24:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15359277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GraySonOfGotham/pseuds/GraySonOfGotham
Summary: First, Dick Grayson dug his way out of his own grave after being dead for five years, his last memory being of his adoptive father Death, and the love of his life, Jason.Second, Clark Kent finds himself on the roof of the Daily Planet, his last memory being of Death's small, sad smile, one he had been wearing for the past five years.Last, Life goes to check on his mourning brother only to find that none is allowed into the Palace of Death anymore, and no one will explain the mysterious resurrections happening around the universe.Oh, and Bruce Wayne, dead for a seven years, shows up on the doorstep of Wayne Manor as well.





	1. By The Power of Death

Jason made his way to the clearing, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his heavy coat. He had a scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, yet still his breath came out in white puffs. It was pretty dark out, but Jason did not need any light.

He had walked to the clearing so many times he could probably do it in his sleep. Certainly, five years of constant practice made it so. Jason glanced up at the sky, eyeing the thick clouds with pockets of black sky peeking through. Stars blinked back at him. Jason looked back down.

He walked into the forest, eyeing the worn path that had been created solely by the feet of visitors. Funny, since the grave did not get many visitors apart from Jason and his family.

Jason visited Dick’s grave once every two weeks, sometimes more. He would often just sit and talk, lying in the grass and looking up at the stars. He would make flower crowns out of the blue flowers that grew in the clearing year round and leave them on Dick’s headstone.

Jason stepped into the clearing, and he froze. Panic started rising in him. The grave had been dug up. Dirt surrounded the grave, and when he looked down in the hole, the coffin had been opened, and nothing was inside.

Jason looked around the clearing wildly. Had someone dug up Dick’s grave? Barely anyone knew where it was in the first place! And why would anyone do such a thing? Dick was not buried with anything of value.

Then, Jason noticed the grass. A trail of dead, blackened grass led away from the grave, like something had been dragged through the grass and flowers. Jason knelt down and gently touched the dead plants. It crumbled to dust in his fingers, leaving a soot-like mark behind.

He had seen this before. It was like print left by the grave.

Jason immediately jumped to his feet, following the dead grass. It was quite simple actually. A handprint on a tree, blackened leaves on a bush, all leading out of the forest again.

He started running, following the dead and withered plants. Finally, he reaches the edge of the forest, and in front of him, hanging onto the trunk of a tree, was a person. The tree was dying, the vicious black spreading up and down from where the man grabbed it for support.

“Dick!” Jason called.

The man spun around, eyes wide. “Jason?”

Jason thought he was dreaming. He _had_ to be dreaming. He only ever heard his voice in dreams, after all. The man stumbled towards him, and Jason could see that it really _was_ Dick. Dream or not, this was his Dickiebird.

Jason ran towards him, enveloping him in his arms without a second thought. Dick cried out, pushing him away. Then, he stared horrified at Jason and his own bare hands. Dick bumped into the tree behind him, his hand reaching out to keep himself from falling.

But nothing happened. Jason did not wither away. The tree did not burn black with death.

Dick stared at his hands again, then looked to Jason. When he was assured he would not kill Jason, he lunged forward, grabbing Jason by the shoulders and kissing him hard. Jason hugged Dick to his chest, trying and trying to get more of him.

When Jason opened his eyes again and Dick pulled back, he found that his eyes were watering. He quickly pulled Dick back in, hugging him tightly and crying into his neck.

“Oh, Dick. You died, and I didn’t know what I’d do without you, you fucking idiot.”

Dick smiled softly into Jason’s chest. They stood there silently for a while, then Dick spoke again. “Jason, I remember dying,” he said. “But… I’m don’t think I’m dead, am I?”

Jason dug his fingers into the back of the suit Dick had been buried in. “I really hope not. I really want the last five years to be a dream, and you are alive and well.”

Dick tensed. “Five years? I’ve- I’ve been dead for five years?”

Jason pulled back, holding Dick by the shoulders at arms’ length. He looked Dick up and down. He looked exactly the same as when he died, not at all aging. “Yes,” he said quietly. “It’s been five, long years.”

Dick’s hand came up, gently brushing over Jason’s face. “You do look older,” he said quietly. “So what, you’re… twenty-eight? And I’m… thirty. Fuck, I’m old.”

“But you haven’t changed,” Jason said. “I’ve missed you, Dickie.”

Dick gave him a small smile. “I’m sorry, Jay.”

Jason took a deep breath, closing his eyes and opening them again. Dick was still there. He returned Dick’s smile and looked around. “So what’s with the touching and dying?”

Dick suddenly looked a bit fearful. “I don’t- I don’t know,” he said. “I just woke up, and it was dark, and it smelled like dirt. I felt like I was suffocating, and all I knew was I had to get out. I pushed, and it opened.”

“You _pushed_?” Jason asked. “You were buried six feet underground! How’d you do that?”

“I don’t know, Jason,” Dick said, sounding a bit fearful. “And then everything I touched started dying, and I was so scared-”

“But it stopped,” Jason noted. “Why?”

Dick shrugged. He bit his lower lip. “That’s not all,” he whispered.

Jason frowned. “There’s more?”

Dick nodded. “I woke up, and there were suddenly a whole bunch of memories I don’t recall having before. They’re… They’re all from before I- before my parents’ died.”

“You remember all that now?” Jason asked. “Hm, that’s certainly interesting. It’s not that I’m not glad you’re back, Dickie,” he said. “But _why_? Why now? Why you? And the powers? The memories?”

“Those are excellent questions, Jason.”

Jason whirled around. A few feet away, a man leaned against a tree, his stance casual, but his face pulled in a tight grimace. The man had pale skin and platinum blond hair, both of which shone in the near darkness. He wore a black blazer, black slacks, and a white button up underneath, with the top unbuttoned.

“Who are you?” Jason asked, immediately pulling Dick closer, practically crushing him into his chest.

The man gave him a tight-lipped smile, pushing himself off the tree. Dick pushed Jason away though, and exclaimed, “Life!”.

“Life?” Jason asked, looking the man over again. He did look vaguely familiar. Ah yes, the man in all white who looked very unfortunately similar to a certain psychotic murderer. “What are you doing here? Did you bring Dick back?”

Life shook his head. “No, I did not,” he said. “Well, maybe partially, but definitely not intentionally.”

“Then what are you doing here?” Jason asked, pulling Dick in again.

Life’s green eyes narrowed. Then, they slowly slid to Dick. “Death is gone,” he said.

Dick broke out of Jason’s arms. “Wh-What?” he asked. He looked confused. “What do you mean, gone?”

“It’s been chaos,” he said instead. “But I can tell you what I do know. The last time I saw my brother was a week ago, so about three and a half Earth months. He had been doing a little better since your death, Dick, but he was never exactly the same again. Then, I find that some souls are missing. I do a little digging, and find that people all across the universe have started coming back to life. Not everyone, mind you, just a few.”

Life took a step forward, his cold green eyes glittering. “And you, Dick, are the first and only one of Earth, so far.”

Dick’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why?”

Life shrugged, nonchalantly. “Ah, that part may have been my doing. See, when you died, because your soul was incomplete, I could not reuse it. My brother also insisted we keep your soul intact and bury it with your body. But little did he know, I had also taken the little part of your soul that had latched onto your parents’. Because you died, I could separate them, and I put it with the rest of your soul. So, your soul melded together again, though it did not settle back into your body. However, somehow it did.”

“So you _don’t_ know how Dick came back to life,” Jason said flatly.

Life shook his head, his long hair  shaking gently. “No, I do not. But, I have some suspicions. See, I went to the Palace earlier today. It was closed, and I was not allowed entrance. I asked to see my brother, and I was refused by the reapers that guarded the gate.”

“There aren’t reapers guarding the gates, though,” Dick argued.

“Exactly, Dick,” Life said with a nod. “But when I went, there were. I then asked to see Clark. The reapers told me he was no longer at the Palace. So obviously, I suspected something happened to my brother. I searched for him, but he was nowhere in the universe. So I have reason to believe he is gone.”

“Can Death die?” Jason asked.

“Not dead,” Life correctly softly. “Just gone. I came down to Earth, after finding out Dick rose from the dead. And it seems that some of my brother’s powers have imprinted onto you,” he noted, nodding at the trees around them. “They were temporary, so worry not. But my brother is not well, I’m afraid. If he is casting his powers out like so, he must be in some sort of distress.” Then, Life tilted his head to the side slightly. A small smile quirked onto his face.

“What is it?” Dick asked.

Life smiled. “I seem to have located Clark.”

“Where is he?”

“In Metropolis, on the rooftop of the Daily Planet building. He is unconscious.”

Dick looked a bit worried. “Is he okay?”

“He seems fine,” Life said slowly. “But why is he here? How did he get here? It is not possible for him to fly here, no. Someone must have purposely transported him here.”

“Clark… Kent is here?” Jason asked slowly. “Alive, here?”

Life nodded.

Jason did not know what to make of it. He swallowed hard. “Okay, and what do you want from us?” he asked.

Life looked from Jason to Dick. “I do not need you, Jason Todd,” he said. “But I require Dick’s assistance. And I suppose Clark could be of benefit as well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, welcome, welcome, welcome back!
> 
> As I have said before, I may have grown attached to my characters? And so I concluded my Gift of Death parody, and now Dick is raised from the dead again, reunited with his lover, all thanks to Life. But the second time is always worse than the first, isn't it?
> 
> So, this will definitely be the last story of the series. I don't know how many chapters exactly, but I'm estimating around 8-10? And as any final book, it will be the most action packed, and things will be rather fast paced. All chapters will contain crucial information, so pay attention to keep up.
> 
> Also, the next chapter won't be for another week at the most, sorry. I have a very busy week ahead, as it's my last full week before school starts, and I really need to start on my summer homework. While I'll still write sporadically, and I will publish a few things, it may not be this story, as I don't have more chapters lined up for it yet. Thanks for understanding!
> 
> Leave a comment to thank me for having a soft spot for my characters, and tell me what you think may happen! <3


	2. Gossip and Tea

Jason turned on the light in the kitchen.

“Sit,” he told Dick. And then, he nodded Life, his lips pressed a little tighter.

Dick slid into one of the tall chairs, pulling out the one next to him. He looked at Life, who sighed and sat down.

“I’ll put on some tea,” Jason said. “Then, we’ll talk.”

“Where’s… Where’s Tim?” Dick asked. “Is he still living here? Or is it just you now? And- And Alfred?”

“Right here, Master Dick,” Alfred’s voice said from the entrance of the kitchen.

Dick turned around, breaking into a smile. “Alfred!” he said. He jumped down, running over and giving the older man a huge hug.

Alfred patted Dick’s back, a small smile on his face. “It’s good to see you, too,” he said.

“Were you asleep?” Jason asked, seeing Alfred’s bathrobe and slightly disheveled look. “Shit, sorry. I didn’t want to wake you up,” he said.

“It’s alright,” Alfred said. “I would have preferred you had woken me up. I think I would have liked to be notified about Master Dick’s resurrection.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jason said with a quirk of a smile. Then, he realized Life had been watching. “Ah, er, Alfie, this is… Dick’s… uncle? I don’t know. This is Life.”

Life stood, holding out his hand. “Alfred Pennyworth. A pleasure,” he said.

Alfred’s eyebrows only raised the slightest before he reached out to shake Life’s hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.” Then, Alfred turned towards Jason. “Sit down, Master Jason. I shall take over tea.”

“Thanks, Alfred,” Jason said. He sat down across from Dick. “Okay,” he said. “What do you want to do?” he asked Life.

Life crossed his legs elegantly, folding his hands as well. “To find out what happened to my brother and his possible whereabouts, I must take Dick to my sister.”

“Aunt Harley?”

Jason looked at him sharply. “You… have an aunt. Named Harley.”

“Yeah,” Dick said. “She’s the best.”

“Huh.”

“Yes, I will be taking you to Fate. She will be able to tell what happened to you, and what caused it. And she could possibly find out what happened to my brother from there.”

“No way,” Jason said. “You can’t take him off Earth. I told you that five years ago, and I will say it again. Dick belongs on this planet more than you do, so you have no right taking him again.” He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, frowning at Life.

Life sighed, his eyes shifting slowly to Jason, pinning with sharp green eyes. Jason stiffened. Life clasped his pale hands together and leaned forward, across the table. “Jason,” he said slowly. “I will have you know that I am much more powerful than you can even fathom with your little human mind. I am much older than your little planet. Do not think you can dictate what I chose to do. Shall I feel it is absolutely necessary to take Dick off this planet, I will do so. There is nothing you can do to stop me, Jason.” Life paused for a few seconds to let his words sink in. “However, I did take your thoughts into consideration once. And I have taken them into consideration once more. But this time, I do not agree with you, therefore I will be taking Dick off planet. I will return him to Earth once Fate sees him.”

Jason pressed his lips together tightly, trying to hold himself together. Life looked a lot more threatening now. He swallowed. “Fine. But I have conditions as well.”

Life looked displeased, but he relaxed back into his chair, crossing his legs and nodding at Jason. “I will hear you out.”

“I want to come with.”

“That is not possible.”

“Then Dick can’t go.”

“You are not coming, Jason Todd,” Life said coldly.

“Then neither is he.”

“Hey, hey, guys,” Dick said, his hands cupped nervously around his mug. “Look, I’m right here. And I can understand that you’re both trying to do what’s best for me, but I can decide for myself, you know.”

“Then what do you propose, Dick?” Life asked.

Dick looked between Life and Jason. “I’ll go,” he said finally. He held up a hand before Jason could protest. “But I’d like Jason to come. Please.”

Life stared at Dick for a few moments. “Fine,” he clipped out. “He may accompany you and me."

Dick beamed. “Thanks, L.” Alfred brought over the tea and a plate of cookies. He poured some for everyone silently before shuffling back out of the kitchen.

“I have previously stated my distaste for nicknames, Richard,” Life said, daintily placing a single sugar cube into his tea and stirring it in.

Dick laughed. “You secretly love them. Everyone knows that.”

The corner of Life’s lips quirked up. “That is utterly preposterous. No one knows such things.”

Dick rolled his eyes, still smiling. “Uh, yeah. Obviously we don’t say it to your face often, since you give out glares like Halloween candy, but yeah, we all know. Me, Auntie H, most of the reapers, Clark, Bruce, everyone.”

Jason nearly choked on his tea. “B-Bruce?”

Dick blinked at him over the rim of his teacup. “Hm?”

“Who did you say?” Jason demanded.

“B?” Dick asked, looking more confused. “Death?”

“ _What_?”

Life smirked. “I take you have not told him?”

Dick blinked a few more times. “Ah… I guess not.” He smiled sheepishly. “See, Jay, Death… his human name is Bruce. Given to him by Clark, because Clark thought Death’s human form looked kind of like Bruce… your adopted father Bruce.”

Jason set his tea down and hid his face in his hands, breathing in deeply. “What… the ever-loving fuck?”

“It’s… It’s hard to explain,” Dick said. “But um, yeah.”

“Death’s… named after Bruce Wayne. I’m going to go throw up, give me a moment,” Jason said, pretending to turn away. He took a couple of deep breaths and turned back. He looked at Life apprehensively. “What’s your human name?”

Life smiled. “I do not possess one,” he said. “And I do not want one. I am perfectly content with my name now.”

Jason nodded sharply. “Good choice. I don’t think… I don’t think I can take any more creepy coincidences.”

They sat in silence for a while, just eating cookies and drinking tea. A few minutes later, the door to the kitchen opened. Everyone looked up.

Tim walked in, stopping half a step in. His eyes drift from Jason to Dick to Life, then back across. He opened his mouth, raising a finger, then lowered it and closed his mouth. He sighed and shook his head, turning on his heels and started walking out again.

“I shouldn’t have had that last coffee before patrol,” he muttered as he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, I was panicking while writing this chapter because I had been so damn sure I had planned out the story already, but I could not find my plans anywhere. I usually hand write them all, on lined paper, but sometimes, if I'm out doing stuff, I would type it out on my phone on a note or on a blank document on one of my Google accounts. But I could not find it at all, and I thought I was going crazy because I remember so well planning it out (though I could not remember WHAT I planned out), and I was so stressed about it, but ugh, I found it finally. Thank goodness, so this chapter got out, a day late.
> 
> I also did not give Life a human name because it would have been way too confusing otherwise. I already had several people question about Bruce and Death, so I'm just going to say Life is a classy man and doesn't need a human name to define him :D
> 
> On the other hand, I do gave a slight request. If y'all have any recommendations for good JayDick angst, please tell. I have read a lot, but I'm sure there are tons I haven't read.
> 
> And unfortunately, as I've stated on my other works previously, I may need to stop the daily updates I've been doing. I'm sorry it took so long for the second chapter to get up, and I know a lot of you are dying to know what's going on, but I ask you hang in there a little while longer. I need a few weeks to get things straight, but I will be updating at least once a week (hopefully, hopefully), but probably no more than that. I have been crazy busy and have no had much time to write. I'm so sorry about this, but I hope you guys understand.
> 
> But all in all, I hope you enjoyed this, and sorry if it took a while. I wanted to plan it out a bit more and this will DEFINITELY be the final story in this series. Thank you, and please leave a comment! <333


	3. The Otherworlds

They had an early breakfast, since Life insisted they get going as soon as possible.

Jason was still very apprehensive about the whole thing, and pretty distrustful of Life. However, he was only mildly suspicious of him since Dick seemed to trust Life a lot.

Alfred prepared a simple meal of toast, some fruit, coffee and tea. Surprisingly, Tim came downstairs, found them, and was not as surprised as Jason expected him to be.

He paused in the kitchen doorway, looking at the three of them again, like the night before. “You guys didn’t stay here all night, did you?” he asked.

Dick broke out in a smile. “Aw, Timmy! I missed you!” He slid from his chair and went over to hug Tim. “You’ve grown!”

“Yeah,” Tim said. “Unlike you. Rose from the dead, huh? Something happen with… Death, I’m assuming?” he asked, nodding at Life.

“You are correct, Timothy Drake,” Life said.

“Please don’t ever address me by my full name again,” Tim said.

“Noted,” Life said, sipping his coffee. “I assume you would like an update as well?”

Tim nodded and sat in the chair next to Jason. He immediately grabbed the coffee pot, busying himself with his daily dose of caffeine.

Life gave him a rather brief explanation of what may have happened and what was going to happen. Tim took it all very well.

“And Jason is going with you?”

Life nodded, looking a bit unhappy about it. “So he insists. You… would not happen to want to come, do you?”

Tim shook his head. “Nah. I’ll stay here. Someone needs to watch over this damned city.”

Life nodded. “Very well. Then, we shall proceed.” He stood. “If we are lucky, Fate will-”

“Are you seriously leaving without saying anything to me?” came a voice from the kitchen doorway.

Everyone turned, and Jason’s jaw nearly hit the ground. “Cl-Clark?!”

Clark Kent looked mildly pissed. He had his arms crossed and leveled Life with a glare, glasses crooked on his face and one of its lenses cracked. “I want answers. Where is Bruce?”

Tim looked up. “Bruce? Did he come back to life too?”

Everyone ignored him. Clark stalked into the kitchen. “Life, I’m not kidding right now. I woke up on the roof of the Daily Planet, on Earth, and it took me several hours to get in control of my powers again, and I had to scare some poor old ladies because I was completely _naked_ , and I fly over here only to find that Dick has come back to life, you’re on Earth, and Death is nowhere to be seen. What is happening?”

Life sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. He dropped back into his seat. “Sit down,” he groaned. “Someone please explain to him.”

So Jason did, tentatively, still in awe over the fact that Clark was sitting in his kitchen again, like he had not been dead. Well, according to Dick, he was not _actually_ dead for very long, but he was “dead” for six years on Earth.

“So you’re bringing them back to the Palace?” Clark asked, sipping on his own cup of coffee. Alfred had brought him some more suitable clothes, old ones that belonged to Bruce Wayne.

“First to Fate’s Tower, then the Palace,” Life confirmed.

Clark pursed his lips. “Take me with you.”

Life narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but Clark cut him off before he even began.

“Yes, you’re his brother, Dick is his son, and I don’t know why Jason’s going, but he’s important to me, too! I would give anything for him, so if you think for a moment I’m just going to sit on my hands and wait on Earth while you guys so find him, you’re wrong,” Clark said fiercely. “I will find him, if it’s the last thing I do! I can’t just-”

“Okay, you can come!”

“-let him depend on two humans and a- oh, wait, really?” Clark asked, brightening.

Life glared at him. “Yes,” he said with gritted teeth. “If you behave.”

“Of course!”

Life sighed. “The stop that nonsensical chattering. I was not going to refuse you in the first place.”

“Oh,” Clark said, blushing. “Sorry. So um, are we going now, or…?”

“We leave immediately,” Life said. He stood, pushing away his now grossly lukewarm coffee. Timothy, I ask that you keep an eye out for any other sudden resurrections here on Earth. There should not be many, and if there are a few, they should not happen until after we return.”

“Got it,” Tim said with a yawn. “Watch out for people coming back to life.”

“Very well,” Life said. He looked between Dick, Jason, and Clark. “We shall depart now.” He held out his hands.

Dick took his right hand, and Clark his left. Jason looked apprehensively at them before reaching for Dick’s hand.

“No tricky business, okay?” Jason warned Life.

Life gave Jason a dark look. Then, without warning, he teleported them away.

A dizzying second later, they stumbled out onto the neatly kept lawn surrounding Fate’s tower. Jason regained his balance and stared up at the tower.

“Okay, when you said _tower_ , I was thinking Rapunzel’s tower. This is- This isn’t a tower. It’s a skyscraper, a building!”

“Precisely,” Life said, walking briskly towards the base of said “tower”.

Dick followed cheerfully behind him, tugging Jason along as well. Clark brought up the rear dutifully. They went into the building. It looked like any other large office on Earth, but completely void of any sign of life.

Everything was bare, and the entire room empty, despite being filled with desks, tables, and chairs.

“Why isn’t there anyone here?” Jason asked.

“Oh, Auntie H works alone,” Dick explained. “She doesn’t like having other beings disturb her while she works. Like Life. He doesn’t have anyone else at his Courtyard. Only Death and Love have beings to help them out and stuff.”

Life pushed the button on the elevator, the doors opening, revealing a golden interior that emitted a light that lit up the entire room. It was a bit blinding. They all crowded into the elevator, and the doors closed.

As soon as the doors touched each other, they rolled open again, and the entire room had changed. It did not even look like it was the same building. The room seemed a lot smaller than the first floor, but maybe that was because this room was cluttered with books of all kinds.

Bookshelves lined every wall, crammed against each other, and every shelf was stuffed with books. Several boxes, overflowing with thick volumes, were packed in corners, and a few scattered on the ground.

And in the center of the room, there was an old, wooden desk with a small lamp on it. Sitting behind the desk was a short, blonde woman.

She looked up when the elevator doors opened. Her face broke out into a smile, and she stood.

“I was wondering when you guys would get here,” she said. Jason was surprised because her voice was loud. _Very_ loud. For such a small sized lady, surrounded by books and looked very… librarian-esque, she had strong vocal chords. She immediately walked up to Life and hugged him hard, trapping his arms to his side.

Life looked only mildly annoyed. Then, Fate moved on to Dick, who enthusiastically hugged her back. She gave Clark as pointed look, almost reprimanding, and Clark gave her a sheepish smile.

“Ah, and Dick, introduce me to your boyfriend!” Fate said, removing her red glasses to get a good look at Jason. At the same time, Jason looked her over.

She looked pretty similar to the only other Harley Jason knew, but there were a few major differences. Fate had dirty blonde hair, she had a somewhat strange lilt to her booming words, and she was curvier, definitely not fit for extreme gymnastics.

“Oh, this is Jason,” Dick said proudly. “He’s, yeah, he’s my boyfriend.” Dick blushed, and Jason felt a sudden swell of pride in his chest.

“Oh, that is so cute!” Fate squealed. “Finally, my sister makes a good match!”

“Hey,” Clark complained.

Fate glared at him. “You butt out,” she said. “Everywhere you go, bad things happen!”

Jason thought Clark would be offended, or embarrassed, or upset. But Clark smiled. “I don’t _mean_ for those things to happen,” he protested. “You’re the one in control of it all!”

Fate sighed. “I cannot make _every single decision_ for _every single being_ in this universe!”

“But most of the things that go wrong would be your fault,” Clark pointed out. “And since you have everything recorded down and all, can you tell us where Bruce went?”

Fate pressed her lips together tightly, like she does not want to tell. Her arms crossed, and she looked at Clark, then Life, then Dick, then Jason.

“Sister,” Life said. “If you know anything, it would be of the utmost importance. I know you do not like meddling in your siblings’ affairs, but this can be disastrous, sister.”

“I know this can be disastrous,” Fate said finally, through gritted teeth. “I have been searching for answers since I found out about his disappearance!”

“And you have found nothing?” Life asked, incredulous. “That simply cannot be! You have records to everything, as Clark previously mentioned.”

“I do, but,” Fate turned and walked to her desk. “There seems to have been some recent changes made to my records. Someone came into my tower without my knowledge, _scribbled_ out my books, and I was completely clueless to all this!” Fate sounded rather angry about it. She hefted the book she had been writing in when they all came into her tower. She flipped a couple pages back and showed them the entire lines that had been viciously crossed out with cruel, black ink.

“Who could have done that?” Life asked, puzzled. “No one can get into our Otherworlds without the assistance or permission of one of us. Not to mention, how did they even get past you?”

Fate closed the book and set it on her desk. “I do suspect someone,” she said slowly. “But I have not had the chance to check just yet, since I do not want to leave my tower unguarded anymore.”

Life looked at his sister. He nodded grimly. “Ah, her.”

“Yes, I suspect our sister.”

“Wait, Love?” Dick asked. “But I thought she stopped messing with things after I died?”

Fate snorted, rolling her eyes. “Our sister never stops interfering. She also has her pesky servants to do her bidding, and I have no power over her, so she could have gotten in to my tower without my knowledge.” Fate huffed. “She has also been oddly quiet ever since our brother’s disappearance.”

“So let’s go confront her,” Jason said. “I’d like to say some things to her face as well.”

Life nodded grimly. “I am afraid Jason may be right, as much as I’d hate to admit it. We must speak with Love at once.”

“Wait,” Fate said. “There’s one more thing you should know. Those coming back to life… it’s not exactly random. Only certain souls are coming back, thankfully. It’s only the ones that died before their specifically planned time, usually by a choice they make in the spur of the moment, where I did not have a chance to change it or have any control over it. There aren’t many of those deaths. A couple million across the universe, and only ten on Earth, but more and more souls are coming back, and I’m doing everything I can to contain it. But I cannot keep doing our brother’s job and still maintain my own duties.”

Life looked grim. “I understand. I will continue searching. In the meantime, you will try to keep the resurrections to a minimum?”

“Yes,” Fate said. She gave Dick a tense smile. “Sorry I could not have more time to talk to you, Dick. I wish you the best of luck. And you, Jason. There are many trials ahead for the two of you.”

Jason’s eyebrows furrowed. He wanted to ask, but Life ushered them back into the elevator. Then, they were standing outside the tower again. Jason seemed to be the only one disoriented by the almost teleportation means of travel.

He barely had a chance to recuperate before he was suddenly overwhelmed by the rich scent of roses.

Dick held him steady while Jason gritted back the dizziness. Clark and Life stalked into the maze made of tall, looming rose hedges.

“You okay?” Dick asked, worriedly. “You don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine,” Jason said. “Let’s go, before we lose them.”

Dick let go of Jason, and they walked into Love’s Gardens.

“So this aunt,” Jason said. “Anything I should know about her? Besides the fact that she’s a vengeful bitch?”

Dick smiled. “Nope! That pretty much covers it!”

Jason scoffed. “So you think she’s the one that kidnapped Death or something? She had a strong grudge against him, didn’t she?”

“Apparently,” Dick said. “But somehow, B was pretty lucky and managed not to draw the short stick in Selina’s games.”

“Right, Aunt… Selina,” Jason said, making a distasteful face. They made their way into a clearing. In the middle of the circle of hedges, sitting in a throne of beautiful blooms and some questionable toxic plants.

“Brother,” Love said. “What a surprise. You never visit me. _Well_ , no one ever visits me,” she laughed. “And they certainly don’t bring guests.” She cocked her head to the side. “What is this? A gathering of my greatest weapons and my brothers’ greatest weaknesses? How delightful.”

“Did you do something to our brother?” Life asked, his voice full of malice.

“Oh, little brother,” Love cooed. She stood, a cruel smile playing on her ruby red lips. The rest of her face was covered by a black veil. “Do you not think it is a bit harsh to come to your older sister and blame her for the incompetence of your twin?”

“Incompetence? Our brother works just as hard as the rest of us! If any of us are incompetent or unworthy, it is you, sister,” Life growled. “You just sit in your Gardens all day, mulling over which beings would pair together to make the most painful relationships!”

Love laughed, the sound cold. She approached Life with grace and elegance. She put a hand on Life’s shoulder. Life glared at her. “Oh, look at you,” Love said. “Hm, the _last_ time I saw your twin brother, he gave me the same look, you know? But then, he started begging and pleading. Ah, it was _glorious_ to see the immovable Death with tears in his _human_ eyes.” She turned her head slightly, as if she heard something odd. “All for _you_ ,” she said, this time looking directly at Clark, but at the same time, it felt like she was looking through him.

“I do create painful relationships now, don’t I?” she said, mostly to herself. She approached Clark, tracing a slim finger down his cheek and chucking his chin lightly. She giggled. “Maybe it was because I’m tired of having all my _good_ relationships end up in pain and suffering anyway.”

“Hey,” Jason cut in angrily. “We don’t care about how you ruin people’s lives,” he said. “Just tell us where Death is!”

Love turned to him, as if she only just realized he was there. “Jason Todd, what a surprise,” she murmured. She walked over to him, turning his face up to look at her. Jason grunted and slapped her hands aside. “Oh? To treat a lady in such a way?”

“You’re no lady,” Jason said. “I know what you did, and what you can do. We don’t want to spend more time here with you than we have to. So just tell us where you stashed Death, and we’ll leave. You got your revenge, you took Death away, everyone’s worried, and now there’s complete chaos in the universe, blah, blah, blah.”

Love laughed. “Humans. Your perception of the universe is so… limited,” she said. She clapped her hands together and sighed. “Alas, I cannot help you, and I would not _want_ to help you, even if I wanted to. I did not have a hand in my brother’s disappearance,” she said. “But I certainly will not help to find him either.”

Life’s fists clenched at his sides. “Sister…” he warned. “You may be able to keep an interesting rivalry with my brother, but you do not want me angry at you. Our sister is not happy with you either at the moment.”

“Oh, pshaw,” Love scoffed. “Like I need the approval of siblings like you,” she said. “You have never bothered helping me out, so do not expect me to return the favor.” She turned on her heels and face away from them. “You may leave now.”

Life glared at her back. Swirls of white light started moving around his fists.

“Or will I have to _escort_ you?” Love asked, her voice as poisonous as the nightshade on her throne.

Life spun on his heels then and stalked out of the Gardens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argh, guys I'm so very sorry! It's been weeks since I last updated, and I know it's still better than those fics that update once a year or every two years even, but I still feel really bad about it. A lot of you guys are dying to find out what happens next, and I have so many things planned for this fic, so if you guys can just hang in there a little longer while I sort things out!
> 
> On an unrelated note, I suddenly really like Harley for some reason? Before, I wasn't very fond of her (especially after I watched Suicide Squad, which wasn't a bad movie or anything, but... it was eh, and Harley was... eh), but I realized that she's actually really badass? I never really bothered find out too much about her or whatever, but especially in more recent comics, she keeps reiterating the fact that she's realized that her relationship with Joker was abusive and she's trying to turn over a new leaf and all? I don't know why, but that made me gain a whole new respect for her. And I also really, really, really, really love it when Harley teams up with the bats for a certain cause. It's just always so damn cute.
> 
> Anyway, that aside, I hope you guys still enjoyed this chapter. It's not as long as you guys deserve, but I really wanted to get this up today, so I cut it short a bit. It's the best I can give right now, so I'm sorry about that again. Still leave me a comment please! <3


	4. Around and Around The Kitchen Island We Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> QUICK REFRESHER:
> 
> -Dick came back to life  
> -Death has disappeared somewhere, and Life is looking for him.  
> -Tim is normal and conscience only half the time due to overdose in caffine  
> -Jason is pretty angry at Life (and Death, but he's not here)  
> -Clark woke up naked on Earth  
> -They've talked to Fate, who is actually pretty chill  
> -They've talked to Love, who is not chill at all, and still holds a grudge against Death, and doesn't care about finding him
> 
> I think that covers it! Onwards!

“It’s unusually quiet here,” Dick pointed out, breaking the silence that had settled among the group.

Everyone was gathered in the center of the Courtyard of Life. Jason and Dick sat on the edge of the white fountain, their fingers intertwined. Clark leaned against a white cherry tree, its branches covered in the everlasting blooms. Life stood looking out of one of the windows on the walkway of the Courtyard, peering out at the sea of souls. It looked like a blanket of glowing white wisps, just floating around until they were chosen.

“There are usually birds chirping and sometimes small animals from different planets all running around here,” Dick explained to Jason. “But for some reason, I don’t see any…”

“That’s because they are all gone,” Life said dryly, not moving his eyes from window.

“What do you mean they’re _gone_ ,” Dick asked, eyes wide. “They didn’t _die_ , did they? Because I’ve seen the same birds hanging around here for as long as I can remember. They’re not just going to up and die like that.”

Life slowly turned. He fixed Dick with a cold expression. “It has been a while since I have been back in the Courtyard,” he said. “Those creatures are tied to me being here. If I am gone for too long, they disappear.”

“But… you just came to Earth for a day, right?”

“I’ve been gone from the Courtyard for two months now,” Life said slowly. “Otherworld months. I’ve been going around to the other worlds, since the first resurrection.”

Clark pushed himself off the tree. “Wait, so it’s been a third of a year since Death vanished? Then how come I just woke up on Earth today?”

Life sighed heavily. “That is because the Otherworlds are dozens of light years from Earth. The travel seems instant with me or my siblings. But if another being, assuming they possess the absurd amount of power required, were to transport you, it could take much longer.”

Clark frowned. “So what you’re saying is, Bruce has been gone for more than three Earth months, and no one’s been in the Palace for that long, and no one has any idea where he could be now.”

“Yes.”

“So what are we going to do about it?” Dick asked.

Life sighed. “I do not know,” he admitted. The silence filled the expanse of the Courtyard again. “But,” Life started again slowly. “I have a suspicion that my brother is still in the Palace. But inert.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Clark asked, sounding annoyed. His arms crossed in front of his chest, his muscles bulging in the black t-shirt he borrowed from Jason. “Are you saying he’s _not_ gone?”

“I believe he is still here.”

“Then _why haven’t we found him yet_?” Clark asked with gritted teeth.

“Access to the Palace has been barred, remember?” Life said calmly.

“By who?!”

“The reapers,” Life answered.

Dick frowned. “The reapers? Why’d they bar entrance to the Palace?”

“A brilliant question, Dick,” Life said. “Which is what I planned on finding out, but I could not get in myself,” he said. “Unfortunately, I will require assistance.”

“So that’s the real reason you dragged us all up here,” Jason deadpanned.

“I did not drag anyone but Dick back here,” Life said. “You and Clark are here of your own free will. I will gladly escort you back to Earth, should you desire.”

Jason shot him a glare, but shut up.

“So how do we break into the Palace?” Dick asked. “If it’s the reapers, the place is crawling with them.”

Life smiled coldly. “Which is why, we go tonight.”

“That’s _hours_ away!” Dick exclaimed. “That’s- That’s five Earth days from now!”

“Precisely,” Life said.

Jason frowned. “I can’t stay here for five days waiting for nightfall! I have to get back to Earth.”

“Very well,” Life said. “I shall take you back.”

“We’re _all_ going back in the meantime, Life,” Clark said. Life narrowed his eyes at Clark. “We need to think about this more thoroughly. If I’ve learned anything from my time on Earth, it’s that we should always have a plan. And a backup plan. Five days should be enough for that. Please,” Clark tacked on at the end. “We’ll return in time, I’m sure.”

~

“You guys are back soon,” Tim commented around a mouthful of cookie. “Er, welcome, I guess.”

Jason stalked through the doors. “Where’s Alfred? Why did you get the door?”

Tim swallowed, grimacing as unchewed bits of cookie scratched his throat as it went down. “He’s… taking care of something at the moment. Hey, d’you guys find Death?”

“No,” Dick said, smiling sweetly at Tim. Tim rolled his eyes and broke off half his other cookie for Dick. “We came back to Earth to formulate a plan.”

“Right, a plan,” Tim said, hurrying after them. “Hey, where’re Life and Clark?”

“They’re arguing about something outside,” Jason said angrily, still walking full speed down the hall. “I need a drink.”

“It’s the middle of the day, Jason,” Dick reminded.

“Yeah, that’s not a great idea, Jay,” Tim agreed. He was practically running next to Jason now. “Slow down! What’s the hurry?!”

“Stop following me, Tim,” Jason growled. “I’m not in the mood for whatever game you’re playing right now. I’m pissed.”

Dick gave Tim an apologetic smile. “Sorry, he’s… absorbed a lot in the past couple days,” Dick said. “Wait, what day is it?”

“Thursday,” Tim said. “You’ve been gone only three days.”

“So, yeah,” Dick said. “He hasn’t had much time to adjust to everything. He probably should just sleep. And cookies help. Help me, at least, I don’t know what Jason uses to cope. Besides alcohol.”

“That’s the _thing_ ,” Tim said, sounding more urgent. “I don’t think he’s ready for anything else-”

Jason pushed open the doors to the kitchen viciously. He stormed into the kitchen, pulling a bottle of wine from the fridge (“Who the hell keeps wine in the fridge, Jason?”) and popping the cork out with a flick of his finger. Then, he started to raise it to his lips, but stopped.

Tim and Dick appeared in the kitchen doorway.

Dick froze and Tim ran into him.

A long, ringing silence filled the room.

Sitting by the damn kitchen island (where dead people seem to gather recently) next to Alfred, hair still wet from a recent shower, and looking no older than the day he died, sat Bruce Wayne, Gotham’s Batman, a dead man walking.

Jason’s eyes flickered between Bruce, and Alfred, and Tim, and then back to Bruce. Then, he raised the wine bottle and smashed it into the ground. The glass broke, shattering against the tile, and dark red wine spilled everywhere.

No one flinched.

“What the fuck is this?!” Jason roared, stepping over the shards, his finger raised and shaking wildly. He looked absolutely vicious.

“Hello, Jason,” Bruce Wayne said calmly. “You’re looking good.”

“ _Good?!”_ Jason screeched. “Dead for seven fucking years, and you dare show your face here, and think it’s okay to just barge back into our lives? Do you know how difficult it was to get on after your death? The public was a huge problem, and so many of your so called _friends_ thought that because Tim and I were adopted, we shouldn’t have had any rights to your property. _Then_ , I practically had to keep Gotham’s criminals under control single handedly because Tim still had school and he had to keep your company running! You _also_ left the JLA scrambling without a leader, and then Clark died too, and then-”

“Wait, Clark’s dead?” Bruce interrupted.

“Is that _all_ you heard?!” Jason screamed. He had his finger poking Bruce in the chest with each word and his face was red with exertion. His wild messy hair and dark circles made him look more like a dead man that Bruce himself. The crazy look in his eyes was the only warning anyone got before Jason lunged at Bruce, grabbing his shoulders, nearly pushing the other man off the tall stool.

Just then, Dick and Tim were roughly pushed out of the way. “Hey! What’s going on here? Jason, what are you doing?!” Clark shouted, rushing forward to pull Jason off Bruce.

He shoved Jason back, and pulled Bruce steady on his chair.

“Pull yourself together!” Clark barked loudly. “What’s gotten into you?” He sighed and turned back towards Bruce. “Sorry, he’s gone through a lot recently-” he stopped short, his eyes widening. “B-Bruce…”

“ _Clark?_ Jason said you were dead!”

“Holy shit, Bruce _Wayne_?” Clark stumbled back, letting go of Bruce’s arm like he had been shocked.

Another shocked silence filled the kitchen. Then, Dick spoke up. “Wait, _this_ is Bruce Wayne? Huh, he doesn’t really look anything like the man in the painting in the study… But he kinda does look like B. If you squint a bit and turn your head to the left…”

Footsteps approached the kitchen and a final figure filled the kitchen doorway.

Life stood in the doorway. His eyes scanned the room, and he sighed. He put on a strained smile, nodding at Bruce, whose face went from confused to angry to confused again. “Bruce Wayne,” he greeted. “I see you have made yourself comfortable among the living once more. I apologize for the sudden intrusion. I took them on a little excursion off planet, and it seems like quite a bit has happened since then.”

Life walked into the kitchen, grabbed a teacup from the counter, poured himself a steaming cup of tea and sat down at the island next to a completely flabbergasted Bruce Wayne.

Life added two sugars to his tea and grabbed a cookie. He took a small bite, and sipped his tea. “So, who shall provide the explanations this time around?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I've gotten a hang on school now and I think I can manage updating this at least once, hopefully twice a week.
> 
> I know we're only four chapters in and so much crazy stuff has happened already in four chapters, and it may be a bit hard to handle at first. And while there are still more things to come and the great mystery to solve, we will get there! And hehe, Bruce W. is here! Now, since Death isn't really in this story, if I say 'Bruce', it will be about Bruce Wayne. If I say 'B', it's most likely Death. But I'll try to refer to Death as just Death from now on. Only Dick will ever call him B. And maybe Clark.
> 
> Thanks for sticking through with this.


	5. Pot 'n Kettle

“You took that well,” Life said casually. “But I suppose someone like you cannot freak out over every abnormal thing.”

“Someone like me?” Bruce asked.

Life shrugged. “Cool, calm, collected. Bordering on emotionless. You remind me of my brother.”

“Right,” Bruce said slowly. “Also Bruce, right?”

“Coincidentally so.”

“And… what’s your human name?” Bruce asked slowly, turning his gaze from the dark gardens to Life.

Life smiled wryly. “Everyone seems to assume I have one, and they all seem apprehensive to hear what it could be. Sorry to disappoint, but I do not possess a human name, nor do I want one.”

“Oh,” Bruce said. He turned back to the gardens.

“Yet, you still look disappointed,” Life accused.

Bruce chuckled softly. “It’s nothing,” he said. “I was just thinking.”

“How very concise,” Life said sarcastically. “Maybe if thinking causes such distress, you should cease thinking altogether.”

“You are just one big ball of happiness, aren’t you?” Bruce asked, looking over at Life again.

Life sighed. “I apologize. I suppose the stress of finding my brother is taking a toll on me.”

“It’s fine. Can’t really blame you. I’m not the most cheerful person to be around either,” Bruce said. They fell into a silence for a couple minutes. Then, Bruce spoke up again. “However, I am curious. What is your brother like?”

“Are you asking what Death is like? Or are you asking what _death_ is like?” Life asked with something reminiscent of a mischievous grin.

“Your brother, the being, Death,” Bruce said with a roll of his eyes. But he was not annoyed, but a bit amused.

“He is… like me, I suppose. We are twins after all. But in ways, we are drastically different. I am a solitary being, while my brother prefers surrounding himself with others, even though he seems colder and more emotionally detached than I am. I believe he is also emotionally weaker.” Life quirked a small smile. “Did Clark tell you the story of how they fell in love?”

“I didn’t get to hear the whole thing,” Bruce admitted. “Clark shut down halfway through it, so I thought it would be best to leave him alone for a while. That’s when you found me on the balcony. So what happened?”

“Our sister, Love, she has this long term grudge against my brother. Something about death always coming between her greatest lovers and whatnot. Anyhow, she made them fall in love with each other, but it was true love, which only made things harder for my brother. In the Otherworlds, his powers are nullified, and he can safely touch living things. However, on other planets, he cannot do so. And Clark, being a victim of circumstance, was an alien on a planet where he could easily survive. My brother made a rare trip out of the Otherworlds to Earth in order to oversee Clark’s death himself.”

“Oh.”

Life sighed. “It was horribly dramatic and teary. My brother moped for a _long_ time afterwards, and I got sick of his moping. He refused to speak or see anyone, and I just could not have that, I guess. I found a little loophole that I do not use often, brought Clark back to life, and let them live happily ever after.”

“So much for that plan,” Bruce said.

“Are you insinuating that my brother’s disappearance had to do with my charitable heart?” Life asked with faux offense.

“Are you accusing _me_ of accusing you?” Bruce shot back, matching the tone.

“Well, I will have you know, Mr. Wayne, that I am not a vengeful person. I did not intend for Clark to be hurt because I was jealous that he was stealing my brother away or something ridiculous like that.”

“Well, I wasn’t _implying_ that you were! So you _aren’t_ all that cold-hearted as you paint yourself to be,” Bruce teased. “You love your brother very much.”

Life scoffed. “As if. And I would not be speaking if I were you, Mr. Pot.”

“Oh? You’re familiar with such sayings?”

“Ye of little faith,” Life said. “I have been around for a long time. I may not show it, but I do find humankind interesting. Do you see me as some simpleton?”

Bruce laughed, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t dare it.”

~

“I still can’t believe you!” Jason hissed, glaring at Bruce.

Bruce sighed yet again. “Jason, I don’t know what else to tell you! I’m not particularly shocked, and I don’t know what you’re so upset about!”

“Besides the fact that you’re _alive_?”

“Do you prefer me dead?”

“No! That’s not what I mean! I just-” He let out a shout of frustration and threw his hands up. “I thought you were dead!”

“He was dead,” Life told him helpfully. He sipped his tea. “It is no different than what happened with Dick, Jason.”

“It is different! I don’t- I don’t know _how_ , but it is!” Jason slumped into a chair. He sighed heavily. “It just doesn’t feel right.”

“Well, I’m sorry, Jason,” Bruce said, not at all sounding sorry.

Jason waved his hand tiredly. “No, I’m sorry. I’ve been pretty much yelling at you for no reason the past few days. I’ll get over it soon. How’s Clark?”

“Absent,” Life said. “I believe he’s been spending too much time with my brother. He’s becoming a hermit.”

Bruce frowned up at Life. “I thought you were the hermit. Didn’t you say Death _liked_ having people around?”

Life did not respond. “Another two days and we can go back to the Otherworlds.”

Jason shook his head. “And what do we plan on _doing_ there again?”

“Ah,” Life turned to Bruce. “What was that term you used?”

“Breaking and entering,” Bruce supplied.

“Yes, breaking and entering.”

Jason’s eyebrows furrowed. “When did you two become so buddy buddy?”

“Since everyone decided that coming back from the dead was contagious and made him feel lonely,” Life said casually. “So the immortal decided to take the risk and befriend said dead man.”

“Oh, stop being such a hypocrite,” Bruce mocked. “Always calling other people lonely and painting yourself the hero to their misery. Now I don’t even know whether or not to believe anything you told me!”

Life smiled. “Then my plan is working.”

Jason gave them a weird look. He stood slowly. “Okay… whatever you guys say,” he said slowly. “I’m going to go find Dick.”

“Okay,” Bruce said absently, still frowning disapprovingly at Life. “Make sure he doesn’t break any more things with his tricks?”

“Got it.”

When Jason left the room, Bruce turned his attention fully to Life. “You are a horrible person,” he stated.

“Oh? I’m pretty sure the title of Universal Judge of Morality came along with the rest of your ridiculous titles. By the way, who came up with the title of ‘World’s Greatest Detective’ anyway? Someone who needed their ego stroked perhaps?”

“I’m considering kicking you out of my house,” Bruce threatened.

“Consider it all you want,” Life said flippantly. “Do you think it would be a smart idea to split up into groups to infiltrate the Palace? Or should be stick together? I mean, we do have a rather small group. Given, the reapers aren’t trained in the particular fields of combat, but there are quite a lot of them, and some are rather proficient in magics.”

“Split up. It’ll cover more ground,” Bruce advised immediately. “Do you even _have_ any moral limits? You know, the more that I think about it, the more you remind me of someone else.”

“As long as it is not your crazy aunt Sally,” Life said. “And would it be wise to stick Jason and Dick together? They might do some questionable things. But I can trust them to behave and act professional, right?”

“Of course!” Bruce said, sounding personally offended. “I trained him! Also, it might be a good idea to sneak in through windows, if there are any. Draw me a layout of the Palace, will you? I can’t really talk you through the plan if I don’t know where you’re going.”

“There,” Life said. He waved his hand and a huge parchment landed on Bruce’s lap. “Be careful, those are quite old. And you’re not the one making the plan. I am.”

“Right,” Bruce snorted. “Now who’s stroking their ego?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, sorry again! I was supposed to publish this yesterday, but I had an audition (BUT I GOT IN!!), so it was hectic, so I did not get a chance to do so! But I am back on schedule, as promised, even though this was one day late. Hope you can forgive me!
> 
> This chapter may seem unimportant, but I promise it is! This is a bit short, and I'm sorry it is, but I really wanted this as a very dialogue heavy chapter, to introduce a new dynamic to the story. I think it's... interesting and provides bits of comedic humor? I don't really know where I want to go with them yet, but it makes me smile, so. Also, this chapter kind of outlines the plan, in a new style, so there's that too.
> 
> Again, sorry about being late! I'll try not to do it again!
> 
> Leave me a comment pretty please! <3


	6. Before I Go

“What’s going to happen once up accomplish your mission?” Bruce asked softly, almost gently. He helped Life adjust a special set of armor they developed together the night before.

“Everything will return to normal,” Life said simply, twisting from side to side to test the amount of movement he was allowed. He looked over to where Dick and Jason were speaking in the corner. “But with a few changes.”

“So you’re not staying on Earth?” Bruce asked, already knowing the answer.

“I have duties to attend to.”

“But you can visit, can you not?”

Life shrugged. “I could, but I would prefer not to,” he said.

Bruce let his hands drop and he stepped back. “Why not?”

“I told you, I like being alone. I am content with just the silent Courtyard as my company.”

Bruce was silent for a moment. Then he asked, “What of me? Will I die again?”

Life sighed. “That is a good question. You were not meant to die at the time you did. But it would be unfair, in a sense, to give you another chance at life.”

“You did it with Clark.”

“Yes, because my brother was so torn up over his death that he was neglecting his work,” Life said. “It was for the greater good.”

“Right,” Bruce said. “And will you let Dick live?”

Life’s lips pressed together. He pondered it. “I don’t know,” he finally admitted. “My brother was also very upset about Dick’s death. Dick was like a son to him. It would not be fair to others, but I think I will leave that up to my brother to decide, should we find him.”

“Jason would not be happy if Dick died again,” Bruce said quietly.

“What about you? Do you not think he will be upset if you returned to death?” Life asked curiously.

“Not as much,” Bruce answered. “From what I’ve seen in the past five days, Jason never got over Dick’s death. But he had already come to terms with mine. And I had only known Tim for a year and a half before my death. I don’t think he was affected as much the first time, nor will he be a second time. And Alfred and I already had a talk, so we’ve both accepted that I would die again.”

“But you don’t want to,” Life said.

“Of course I don’t,” Bruce scoffed. “I still think it’s my duty to watch over my city.”

“And that is your only reason?”

Bruce shrugged. “It’s my biggest reason.”

“I see.” They lapsed into silence, and after a while, Bruce turned and walked away to talk to Clark.

~

Jason ran his thumb over the top of Dick’s hand, reveling in his warm skin. Jason was still having a hard time believing that Dick really came back. Nearly every single night he had burst out crying in Dick’s arms because he thought it was a dream, and when he woke up, Dick would be gone again. But Dick really was there.

“I love you, Dickie,” Jason said softly, giving both of Dick’s hands a squeeze.

“I know,” Dick smiled fondly. “I love you, too.”

“I don’t want to lose you again,” Jason confessed. “Happened once, not a fan.”

Dick laughed. “I wasn’t particularly fond of the experience either. But Jay, whatever happens happens. You know that right?”

“And I hate it,” Jason hissed viciously. He tugged Dick into his arms. “Maybe we shouldn’t go. Let’s just stay on Earth until Life finds Death. And I hope he never does. Because then…” Jason trailed off.

“Then I won’t die again?” Dick finished. “That’s not the natural way of the universe, Jay. You know that. Every death happens-”

“-because they’re meant to happen, I know,” Jason said, frustrated. “But you _weren’t_ supposed to die, Dick! Why can’t you understand that? You… You could have stayed by my side the past five years, but you _didn’t_. I… I feel like it’s my fault.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I feel like it is. I’ve thought over all the things I would have done differently, and there are so many fucking things, I- Dick, please don’t go. I can’t lose you again.”

“You’re not going to,” Dick promised. “When we find Death, and we will, I’ll ask him to stay. He’ll let me, I know it.”

Jason’s eyes drifted. “But will Life?”

Dick was silent this time.

“He won’t,” Jason guessed. “So this whole thing was just to tease me? What, am I going to come back to Earth, after helping Snow White find his brother, only to be repaid with you crumbling to dust in front of my eyes?”

Dick eased himself out of Jason’s arms. “Jay, I’ll be truthful with you a moment, ‘kay? I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what Life will decide to do. But… whatever happens, things will work out.”

“Don’t say that to me,” Jason pleaded, his voice cracking. “It sounds like goodbye.”

Dick just gave him a small smile. “I’d rather be giving you a sincere goodbye than filling you with hope and empty promises,” he replied.

“Dick…”

“I’m sorry, Jay. But I don’t want it to end like last time.”

“I don’t want it to end _at all_ ,” Jason whispered.

“I love you, Jay.”

Jason just shook his head.

“Don’t believe me? I do.”

“No, I believe you. It just… everything sounds like goodbye.”

Dick laughed softly. “Well it doesn’t have to! It could just be a normal expression of love. It doesn’t have to be sad. Things are only sad if you think of it that way.”

Jason could not help but smile a little. Even with his eyes bright with tears, he laughed. “You’re so stupidly optimistic,” he said. He let his head fall forward onto Dick’s shoulder.

“Better than just plain stupid,” Dick quipped.  

~

“Clark.”

“Bruce.”

Bruce leaned against the large metal table and looked up at the familiar ceiling of the cave. “Is it weird?” he asked.

Clark glanced at him. “What?”

“You seem uncomfortable talking to me,” Bruce said with a shrug. “I was just wondering if it’s because of your boyfriend and all.”

Clark blushed, turning away again.

“Shame,” Bruce said.

“Huh?”

Bruce rolled his eyes. “You’re as eloquent as ever, aren’t you? I said, it’s a shame. I haven’t really gotten a chance to talk to you in the past few days.”

“We’ve talked.”

“Yeah, once. And you just blanked out in the middle. Some best friend you are.”

“Sorry,” Clark said. “I didn’t mean to. I was just upset.”

Bruce looked at Clark for a long time. Clark gave him half a glance before looking away again. A small, sad smile appeared on Bruce’s face. He sighed. “I understand now.”

“What do you understand?”

“Why Life thinks I shouldn’t stay on Earth after you guys find Death.”

“Wait, he’s not letting you stay?” Clark asked, suddenly a bit more alert.

Bruce smirked. “Oddly enough, he has a set of his own morals to stick to. And he won’t break them for anyone to just _asks_.”

“So you’re…”

“Yes.”

“And you’re not upset about it?” Clark asked incredulously.

Bruce cocked his head, glancing off in the distance. “I was, a bit. But I get it now. I don’t have a place in this world anymore.”

“Of course you do!” Clark said. “You’re Bruce Wayne! You’re Batman! There’s always a place for Batman in Gotham.”

“Yes, there’s a place for Batman, but Batman doesn’t have to be Bruce Wayne,” Bruce explained calmly. “I’ve been away too long to come back. My return just confuses people.”

“I don’t- I don’t get it,” Clark said, looking genuinely confused. “You’re not bothering me.”

“No, I’m not,” Bruce said. “But I also don’t have a place in your life anymore. Nor do I have a place in Jason’s, or Tim’s, or even Alfred’s.”

“What are you talking about?” Clark asked, with a touch of exasperation this time.

“I’m saying, Clark, I’ve been replaced. You have your boyfriend, Jason has his, Tim has his own group of friends, and Alfred has three boys to take care of again. I don’t fit in anywhere in this equation.”

Clark frowned. “My boyfriend’s not a replacement for you.”

“No, I suppose not. Bad choice of words. I’m just saying I don’t have a role in your life anymore, Clark. So there’s no point in staying around and pretending I do. I’ve accepted it,” he shrugged.

Clark opened his mouth, then closed it. He did not know what to say. If he denied it, Bruce would know he was lying. Instead, he let out a long breath. “Bruce…”

“You don’t have to try to make me feel better or anything,” Bruce laughed quietly. “It’s fine.”

“No, I feel horrible now.”

“That’s just your sad hero complex,” Bruce said. “Always trying to appease everyone.” He sighed heavily, a smile on his face. “Anyway, I guess I should tell you thanks.”

“Why?”

Bruce shrugged. “Just because I never got to tell you before I died. You were a great friend, Clark. Doesn’t matter how many argument we had. I’ve always appreciated having you by my side.”

“Stop talking in past tense,” Clark demanded.

“You would have outlived me anyway,” Bruce said. “But thank you for always being there for me. You were there for me so many times before, and I never told you. So I’m going to tell you now while I’ve been given this chance.”

“You’re going to make me cry.”

“You’d better not,” Bruce threatened. “I don’t have a plan for that.”

Clark, whose eyes were suspiciously misty, smiled and let out a pained laugh. “Bruce…”

Bruce just shook his head. He pushed himself away from the table. “Don’t bother. If we keep talking, you’re going to start crying, and I might as well. Bye, Clark.”

Then, without another word, he left, only giving Jason a brief nod on his way out of the Cave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, but bittersweet. 
> 
> The chapter title kind of fits all three conversations well. Usually, the connotation behind the phrase "before I go" is like an afterthought, a quick reminder phrase. I may have ruined it for myself forever. I had a specific path planned out for Bruce (which I'm not disclosing yet), and now I want to change it for reasons. He's only been in three chapters and I don't want him to go now.
> 
> Also, this was going to be put together with the next chapter, but I need to rewrite the second part, so I'm just posting it separately now.
> 
> <3


	7. The Palace of Reapers

They left early the next morning. Everyone was solemn and somber. Despite knowing it was highly unlikely anyone would die on the mission, the events that could follow the mission were the ones that weighed down on everyone. Alfred got up early make them breakfast, despite Life’s protests.

He insisted on sending them off properly.

They gathered in the cave one last time. Bruce was the only one absent. Alfred said he was still asleep upstairs, where he had been since early last night.

Life doubted he was actually sleeping.

Either way, he did not bother checking or asking any further. Instead, he held his hands out, and Dick came to one side of him and took his hand. Clark fell in line on the other side. Jason sighed once loudly, checking the straps on his gun holsters once more. (Life did tell him they were going to be useless against reapers, but Dick said it made Jason feel better, so Life decided not to push further.)

They joined in a circle.

“Ready?” Life asked softly.

Curt, silent nods from all around the circle.

“Okay.”

Life took a deep breath, gathering up his powers for the transportation.

They landed at the gates of the Palace. A long, lonely walk led up to the doors of the looming Palace. It looked dark and gloomy, but this time, unlike normally, it also  _ felt  _ dark and gloomy.

“Okay,” Life said. “Everyone know what they’re supposed to do?”

They all nodded.

“Dick, you and Jason, go up from under the Palace. Distract the reapers. Clark, find places where they could be keeping my brother with your powers. I’ll do the same,” Life quickly summarized. He frowned slightly.

“What’s wrong? Does something feel wrong?” Clark asked, noticing the minute change in Life’s expression.

Life shook his head. “No, it’s nothing.”

“Are you sure?” Clark asked. “I’ve learned to trust my instincts.”

Life waved his hand dismissively. “No, nothing’s wrong. We must move now.”

Jason and Dick nodded. Dick gave Life a small smile. “Thanks,” he said. He strode forward, leaning up on his toes and gave Life a quick peck on the cheek.

Life blinked at him in surprise. Jason looked mildly annoyed. Dick grinned. “What? I read recently that French people do that all the time! It’s like a greeting and a good-bye.”

“They don’t  _ actually  _ kiss the other person,” Jason growled. “Idiot.” He dragged Dick away. As they left, Clark turned to Life.

“Thank you, Life,” he said. He looked really tired and stressed. “I really hope B’s in there.” He glanced up at the Palace.

Life pressed his lips together tightly. “I believe he is. I feel his presence strongest here. It could be that he’s around here longest, but I just… have a feeling.”

Clark smiled a little. “Alright. I’ll be going now.” He floated off the ground.

Life watched as he shot away, a blur of black-blue and dark red. Once he was out of sight, Life frowned.

He had lied to Clark. Something had felt wrong. Maybe because he had made several teleportations between the Otherworld and Earth with several people and it really drained his powers, but Life was feeling weaker than he had in a long time.

Still, Life could not dwindle over that now. He had a brother to rescue.

Life strode to the gates, pushing them open silently. He walked up towards the looming Palace. Of the group, Life took the most dangerous. The entrance from the front door. His job was to shock the reapers enough for Jason and Dick to surprise them, and keep them distracted from there. Life would then feel out where Death is, and there was definitely something weird holding Death there. And since none of them knew what it was, there was a large chance that something could go wrong, something they were not prepared for. But Life had no choice.

He put his hand on the black doors. They felt cold and dead, literally. Death’s doors always felt warm and thrumming with something. They felt  _ alive _ . Yet these doors felt like doors. Cold, heavy doors.

Life tried to push them open. It wouldn’t open. His eyes narrowing, Life realized that the doors were locked by some magic.

But it was not Death’s powers. Reaper magic. That was why they felt especially cold.

Life quickly got to work, unweaving the magic on the door. It made him a bit uneasy because reapers suck in all types of magic, signs of life, and basically the life of everything. And Life is stronger than any reaper, but unlike Death’s powers, which cancel out Life’s, reaper magic swallow Life’s magic, and it takes a lot of it to overpower it.

When Life finally broke the seal on the door, he pushed it open. For a moment, the hall of the Palace was completely empty, which was a very odd occurrence. Life frowned, moving forward into the hall.

The doors to the Palace slammed shut, as if blown by a heavy gust of wind. Life did not bother turning around. He knew someone had shut the door behind him.

Then, out of the shadows of the pillars, figures emerged. Cloaked in black swirls, they formed a circle around Life. One of them spoke.

“Welcome, Life,” he said, his voice low and cool.

Life recognized the voice. “Thanatos,” Life replied.

“I see you have broken through my doors. Rather impressive,” Thanatos, Death’s scribe, said. “But I sense you are weakened.”

“It may be so,” Life said flippantly. “But do not underestimate what I can do.”

Thanatos laughed darkly. “Oh, I know very well what you can do. After all, your brother put up a pretty good fight as well.”

Life’s expression hardened. “Where is he?”

“Why should I tell you?” Thanatos taunted. “You have done nothing for me. I owe you nothing.”

“And what has my brother ever done to you?” Life asked. “Do you not hold the most power in his court? Do you not have the greatest job of all?”

“What?” Thanatos growled. “Writing names of those doomed to die for all of eternity?”

“Your job is to lead the reapers!” Life argued. “You are second only to Death himself!” Life paused a moment, his expression becoming thoughtful. “And Dick.” Then another pause. “And Clark, probably.” He went back to frowning. “What more could you have wanted?”

Thanatos chuckled lowly. “What more could I want? That old fool knows nothing. He sits on his throne, watching the transactions go by, never lifting a finger to help. And he becomes  _ weak  _ with human emotions! He pines and perishes over the deaths of mere  _ humans _ ! He became useless!”

“So you took over?” Life asked flatly.

“Yes, I did,” Thanatos said. “And I am doing a better job than he ever did. Am I not right?” The reapers that stood silently in the circle all nodded.

Life scoffed. “ _ You _ , a mere reaper, know nothing of what my brother has done. You have not been around as long as my brother and I. I created, and he destroyed. That was what we were meant to be. But he did his best to mend his future. That was before our sister came along. When we had to create our own paths. And my brother chose to fix his.”

“Fix to what?” Thanatos spat. “ _ This _ ?” He gestured around the Palace.

Life shook his head. “You do not understand. My brother had the power to destroy everything. He could not stop it. Instead, he held it back, using his own powers against himself until he destroyed part of it. That is what Death is. It is not a complete end. It is a chance to start anew. He does not  _ destroy  _ the souls anymore. He just wipes them clean. And  _ you _ . You would have been obliterated had my brother not had a heart! If I were him, I would not have bothered!”

Thanatos growled at Life. “Whatever!” he yelled. “You cannot save him now. There is nothing you can do!”

“Not him alone, but with a little help, I’m sure we’ll manage,” Jason said from behind them. Dick lands on the other side of the circle, twirling his escrimas and smiling.

“Hey, Mariarnol! Long time no see, huh? Well, I was dead, so you couldn’t really have  _ seen  _ me anyway. Nor could I have seen you… anyway! Looks like there’s been some shift in power since I’m gone?”

The reaper Dick spoke to took a hesitant step back. Dick stepped forward, feigning worry. “Hey, what’s wrong? You don’t look so good.” He looked around the circle. “In fact, none of you look so good.”

“What are you doing here, Richard?” Thanatos asked. “You are supposed to be  _ dead _ .”

Dick smiled brightly. “Oh, that? See, after Death disappeared, I decided that my nap was over, crawled out of my grave, and came back here to see how things are going!”

Thanatos growled. “Impossible. Souls cannot come back to life! Your- Your body would have rotted!”

Life smirked. “Do you still believe you are a better Death than Death himself?”

Thanatos made another low growling sound. Life watched as his black smoke swirled with more agitation. “I will reduce you to nothing, just like I did your pathetic twin!” Thanatos roared. He waved his hand in Life’s direction, thrusting it forward and a sword of black smoke materialized. Life barely moved out of its way.

The circle of reapers broke, some running, other staying to fight. Jason and Dick jumped into action immediately. The reapers did not stand a chance, even with magic.

“You think you can hurt me with weapons?” Life asked, laughing coldly.

Thanatos mimicked his laugh. “That is where I am a better God than your brother ever was. You see, in my time between condemning the living, I slowly developed a new form of magic. A form of reaper magic that can harm beings such as you and your brother.”

The sword came thrusting towards Life again, this time slicing at his armor. Thankfully, the armor had been shielded against everything, including magic. It bounced off him harmlessly.

Life frowned. “You did no such thing. There  _ is  _ no such thing.”

Thanatos sliced the sword at him again. Life was a bit too slow in dodging it, and it sliced across his arm. Life cried out as the sword pierced through his human form. Black smoke started pooling from his wound.

Life suddenly felt a great amount weaker. He stumbled back and glared at Thanatos, who stood over him, sword raised. If reapers had a face, Thanatos would look smug and gleeful.

“I wonder,” Thanatos mused. “Can Life die?”

“Not tonight, he won’t,” came a deep growl before Thanatos was tackled to the ground. Life was in complete shock when he saw who had the audacity to tackle Thanatos.

Thanatos’s sword flew for his hand and dissolved into wisps of smoke. Thanatos whipped his head up to see who his attacker is. “You… How did you come back to life too?!” he raged.

Bruce Wayne, dressed head to toe in a ridiculous black and dark grey outfit with solid shape of a bat on his chest, punched Thanatos in the… where his face is supposed to be.

Black smoke poured form the hood, and Thanatos’ voice became garbled.

“You alright?” Bruce asked, turning back towards Life, who was still staring at him, shocked. “I can’t hold him long, so you might want to work some of your magic and  _ do something _ .”

Life staggered to his feet, his wound still seeping sluggishly. Still, he walked to where Bruce was struggling to hold Thanatos down. He stopped above them.

“Move,” he told Bruce.

Bruce easily rolled off of Thanatos. It took Thanatos a moment to recover.

But before he could jump back to his feet, Life had him pinned, his hand stretched out above him, straining with effort to keep the reaper down.

Life glared down at the thrashing reaper. “Thanatos,” he warned. “You have one last chance. Tell me where my brother is.”

“Never,” Thanatos spat, his voice strangled. He laughed. “You cannot kill me, and you know it.”

Life’s lips twisted into a cruel smile. “No, I cannot kill you. I am not Death,” he said softly. Perspiration beaded around his hairline. “But there is one detail to the story I did not tell you. When my brother turned his own powers against himself, his ability to destroy complete disappeared from him. But it did not disappear forever. No, someone else had to take it.” Life knelt down next to Thanatos and lowered his voice. “I cannot kill you, Thanatos, but I  _ can  _ destroy you. So tell me, where is my brother?”

“You- You are lying,” Thanatos hissed.

Suddenly, Clark was standing at his shoulder. “I found him,” he said, panting. “But you have to come quick.”

Life nodded once in understanding. He turned his attention back to Thanatos. “Looks like I have no more use of you,” he said. “But one last thing I wanted to correct you on. My brother and I? We are not gods. We are just beings bound by a fate we cannot control. And we do a damn good job of doing it.”

With that, Life twisted his hand once, and Thanatos let out a high-pitched screaming sound and he seemed to writhe and howl in agony as the black smoke seemed to consume him, turning on himself.

Suddenly, Thanatos was no more.

The entire hall was silent as Life stood up, wobbly on his feet. Bruce let him lean on his shoulder to stand. The reapers suddenly all dropped to their knees, wailing apologies and asking for forgiveness.

Life waved his hand dismissively. “Didn’t I just say I’m not God?” he asked irritably. “Get up, and get this place back in order.”

They immediately set off to do just that. Life turned to Clark. “Where is my brother?” he asked weakly, hanging onto Bruce tightly to just stay upright.

Clark gave him a quick once over, looking like he wanted to say something, but decided against it. “Follow me, and quickly.”


	8. Amendments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THERE ARE 2 BRUCE'S IN THE CHAPTER!!!
> 
> Death will be referred to as 'Death' or Life's brother by everyone, except for Clark, who will call him 'Bruce' a couple times. Otherwise, it should not be too hard to distinguish between them.

Clark led them to Death’s room. Life thought it was rather odd that of all the places to hide Death, Thanatos chose Death’s room in his own Palace.

Clark stopped in front of the door. He turned towards Life, who was still limping slowly behind him.

“What?” Life asked. “Is he inside?”

Clark nodded. “I can’t get the door open, though. There’s… something blocking me. Thanatos’ magic, I think.”

Life frowned and put his hand on the door. Sure enough, he felt the weak signature of Thanatos’ spell. “I can remove it,” he started. “But if I do, I do not know if I can get my brother to wake up or remove any spells that are surely on him.”

“Well we can’t even get to him if you don’t remove the spell,” Clark scowled. “Can’t we just take each problem as we come to it?”

“Hey, when did you get so grouchy?” Bruce asked, his own mouth twisted in a frown.

Clark glared at him. “Since I saw my husband lying in the other room and I _can’t_ get through the wall for once?”

“And we’re trying to fix that, aren’t we?” Bruce shot back.

Clark started to respond when Life butt in. “Hey!” he snapped. “I cannot concentrate with children chattering in the background.”

They shut up, sending each other one last glare. Life took a deep breath and closed his eyes, concentrating on the door. After a moment, he unhooked his other arm from around Bruce’s shoulder and pressed both hands against the door, as if pushing against it.

Suddenly, he collapsed.

Bruce immediately stooped down and tried to help him up, but Life was deadweight.

“It is open,” he croaked. Clark immediately pushed the door open and sped inside.

Life’s face pinched together into an uncomfortable expression. “Get me up,” he whispered. Bruce helped him to his feet, and this time, he was leaning completely on him.

They slowly made their way into the room. Clark was at Death’s bedside, speaking softly. Clark looked up worriedly. “He doesn’t look good.”

“Of course not,” Life grunted. “Thanatos placed him in this room because his power is strongest here. My brother is tied to his Palace. He keeps this place up. So Thanatos has been drawing from my brother’s powers to enhance his own.”

“But Thanatos is dead,” Clark said. “Why isn’t he waking up?”

“Because he is held under stasis. More of Thanatos’ magic,” Life grunted. “Help me over.”

“There’s no way you have enough power to wake him up,” Bruce pointed out.

“Of course not,” Life scoffed. “I am just going to see how much I can do. Maybe… Maybe I have just enough to bring him out of stasis. Then, he must recharge slowly on his own. It may take months.”

“Months?” Clark asked. “There’s- There’s no other way?”

Life’s lips pressed together tightly. Bruce helped him over next to Death. Life let go of Bruce.

“Do not scream,” was the only warning he gave before he let go of his human form. He turned into a cloud of white mist for a moment, twisting agitatedly in the air before solidifying again into his true form.

He looked just like Death, but dressed in white robes, his staff of budding branches resting in his eight-fingered hand. Like Death, he had no face in this form. Life held his hand over Death’s chest and white smoke poured from his hand. At the same time, wisps of black rose up out of Death’s chest to meet it. They swirled together for a moment, before returning to their owners.

Then, Life’s form contorted, and he sat wearing his human form once more.

“How is he?” Clark asked immediately.

Life felt dizzy from that act. It was a lot harder to get back to his human form than he thought. “Not… good,” he managed. “I do not have enough power to even bring him out of stasis anymore.”

“What?” Clark asked, going pale. “No, no, you _have_ to, Life! Try!”

Life frowned. “I cannot even summon enough power to shift between this form and my true form again, let alone bring my brother out of stasis.”

“So you’re just going to leave him?” Clark exclaimed.

“I am _not_ going to just leave him,” Life snapped. “If I do, he will not survive long enough to regain his energy to wake up.”

“Then-”

“I need to get enough power.”

Clark bit his lower lip. “And how will you get enough power? Don’t you recharge at the same speed as your brother?”

“I do,” Life said. “But I have a few ways to get a lot of energy fast.”

“How?” Clark asked, fearing the answer.

Life was silent for a moment. “I can consume souls.”

“No,” Clark immediately rejected. “That’s- you can’t.”

“They’re not alive,” Life pointed out. “They’re just souls.”

“And if you consume them, don’t they get destroyed?” Life’s silence confirmed the answer. “Then no,” Clark said. “You said the power to destroy souls was so terrible that your brother gave it up. You can’t. There must be another way.”

“A few months, Otherworlds’ months, of recovery.”

“You said he would not survive that long.”

Life then shrugged. “There’s one last choice.”

“What is it?” Clark nearly pleaded.

“I give up myself,” Life said simply.

“You can do that?” Clark asked.

“Would you like me to?” Life answered.

“Would _you_?”

Life quirked the smallest of smiles. “For my brother? Anything.”

Clark stared at him for a long time. “What would happen to you?”

“I disappear,” Life said. “My powers would pass on to my brother. I would be doing the same thing my brother did so long ago.”

“But all of you would be destroyed.”

“Yes.”

Clark considered it. “No,” he finally said. “I can’t ask you to do that. You are needed to ensure the continuous cycle of life and death.”

“My powers would pass on to my brother,” Life repeated. “He would take over both jobs.”

Clark shook his head firmly. “No,” he insisted again. “How do you think he will feel when he does wake up and find out that his twin is gone?” he asked. “No!”

“Then there is nothing I can do for him,” Life said softly.

Clark looked like he was on the edge of bursting into tears. He looked at Death, then over at Life. His shoulders shook, trying to keep everything under control. A soft sob escaped him.

“Clark…” Life said quietly. “You have to consider what’s best for everyone. This universe needs my brother. You need my brother. Dick needs my brother. _I_ need my brother. We cannot let him waste away.”

“I _know,_ ” Clark said, wiping furiously at his tears. He took a shaky breath. “But none of your choices are _ideal_ , Life.”

Life was silent a moment. “Tell me, Bruce,” he suddenly says. “How do you choose which mission plan to go with, on a normal basis.”

Bruce looked confused.

“The one that is fastest? Or the one that results in the least amount of unnecessary injuries and casualties?”

Bruce’s eyes widened under the cowl. “You heard Clark, Life. He said no.”

Life glared at him. “He is _my_ brother.”

“And he is _my_ husband!” Clark argued. “You know exactly what would happen if you gave yourself up for him!”

“Nothing!” Life shouted. “There would be no drastic shift in the balance of the universe, he would not hate me for destroying souls to bring him back, and he claim control over his Palace again! Is that not the most effective and the one with the least amount of casualties?”

Clark’s teeth were gritted are more angry tears ran down his face. “You’re not listening to me! He-”

“How much power do you need?” Bruce asked suddenly.

Life shifted his attention over. He took a deep breath. “Not too much. Just need to double the amount of power I have now.”

“Take me,” Bruce said calmly.

“ _What?_ ” Clark yelled. “Are you crazy? You’re- You’re not even _dead_ yet!”

Bruce reached up and pulled the cowl off, to let them see how serious he was. “But I was supposed to be. And I will end up dead again anyway. So you might as well take my soul.”

“Bruce, that’s-”

“Not up for discussion,” Bruce said. He gave Clark a blank look. “You want your husband back? You don’t have a choice.”

“No…” Clark said. “I- you… Don’t, Bruce.”

“Would you really choose me over him?” he asked sharply.

Clark looked at him shocked for a few seconds. Then, he dropped his head in shame.

Bruce ignored him. He spoke directly to Life. “It’s me, or you. And between the two of us, who is more important to this balance of this universe again?”

Life narrowed his eyes at Bruce. Without tearing his eyes away, he said, “Clark, please leave us.”

“You can’t, Life,” Clark begged. “You said you wouldn’t destroy souls! You said he would hate you for destroying a soul to bring him back!”

“Go, Clark,” Life said coldly, not looking at him.

Clark shook his head, still standing there.

“Go, Clark,” Bruce said softly. “It’s okay.” He gave his best friend a tentative smile. “I never told you, but I’m glad you found someone for yourself. You deserve some happiness in your life. Please go now. I don’t think you need to see this.”

Clark cried softly again. He took a step backwards. “And I never properly said good-bye the first time,” Clark said softly.

Bruce smiled. “Goodbye, Clark.”

He left, closing the door with a final click behind him. Bruce took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“I’m ready whenever.”

“Are you sure about this, Bruce?” Life asked, his voice oddly calm. “Completely sure?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re not even going to say good-bye to Jason?” Life asked.

“I already did,” Bruce said. “Last night. I didn’t tell anyone I was going to follow you here.”

Life was still a bit displeased about that part.

“Besides,” Bruce continued. “It wouldn’t be the first time I did that.”

“And how did he take it the first time, in case you forgot?”

“I’m not planning on returning.”

Life looked at him for a very long time. Bruce stared back unabashedly. He sighed and shook his head gently. “You know, I do not know if I will ever understand you humans.” He nodded. “Very well.”

He held out his hand.

Bruce’s eyebrows furrowed.

Life gestured towards himself impatiently, and Bruce took a slow step forward, still not quite understanding.

Life grabbed his wrist and pulled him down towards him, pressing his lips tightly against Bruce’s, locking his other hand around the back of Bruce’s neck.

Bruce let out a surprised sound, but did not pull away. Then, the kiss burned. It started in his chest, like some demon suddenly woke up and was rearing its ugly head, trying to tear its way out of Bruce. It was agony and torture, and Bruce tried to pull back, but Life held him there.

Then, it was over. Life let go of Bruce Wayne’s limp body and let it drop to the ground.

He stood, panting quietly. He cast half a glance to the body before turning to where Death lay, looking like… well, death.

He gathered the newly acquired power, feeling it tingling in from his arms down to his fingertips. He smiled a little before reaching out, holding his hands over Death’s still body.

He let his powers flow out of him, gathering and seeping into Death. Life watched Death carefully, keeping a steady flow of power flowing into him. It was not long before Life could feel his powers tapering off to a slower trickle. He strained to squeeze as much of his powers out as he could.

Just before he ran out of power completely and was left without any other choice, Death twitched. Life pulled back his power and collapsed onto the bed, weaker and more tired than before.

It took a few minutes, but Death regained consciousness, looked around at his surroundings with confusion. His brother, barely conscious himself, the body of a human collapsed at his bedside.

Death morphed into his human form. “What is going on here?” he asked.

The corner of Life’s mouth twitched. “Welcome back, brother,” he whispered.

Death frowned. Slowly, his memories start resurfacing. He gasped. “Thanatos? Where is he? I thought he-”

“He’s gone, brother,” Life said.

Death looked around uncertainly. “Then if you’re here… is…?”

Life nodded. Death quickly pushed himself off the bed and ran towards the door, leaving Life alone in his bedroom.

Life lay there for a while, summoning up enough strength to stand. He bent down and scooped up the Bruce Wayne’s limp body. Then, he started the torturous walk to the door. Every step was painful, and it did not help that Bruce weighed a lot more in muscle than the average human.

Life managed to get through the door that Death left open.

The hallway was as much a mess as Life expected. Clark was crying on Death’s shoulder, his fingers bunched up in tight fists in Death’s robes.

Over and over again, he murmured into Death’s clothes, “Bruce, Bruce, Bruce, fuck, don’t ever leave me again.”

Dick and Jason leaned against a pillar nearby, waiting for Clark to let go of Death so Dick could do the same thing. They were a bit battered and bruised, but Dick was smiling, his eyes squished up into little crescents as he laughed at something Jason said.

Jason also looked a lot less tense than before.

“Hey, it’s okay now,” Death said, pulling Clark back so he could talk to him properly. “I’m fine.”

“I don’t even know how something like this could have _happened_ ,” Clark sobbed, his hands still twisted in Death’s robes. “Do you know how much stress you put us under? And what a mess the universe is in right now?”

Death blinked. “Is it bad?”

Clark sniffled. “Well, according to your brother, it’s not as bad as it could be. But still.” His eyes drifted over Death’s shoulder and saw Life, struggling to stay upright, and the body in his arms. He let out another sob before burying his face into Death’s shoulder again. Death had no idea what brought on the new wave of tears, but he wrapped his arms around Clark and patted him comfortingly. He let Clark just cry.

Life stumbled his way past Jason and Dick, who both stopped their conversation.

Jason’s eyes widened. “No,” he whispered. His eyes shot up to meet Life’s. “He’s not… but…”

Dick’s smile slid off his face slowly. He gasped softly. “Did he…?”

Life nodded solemnly. Jason could not tear his eyes away from the body in Life’s arms.

He fell to the ground in shock. It was clear that Jason held Bruce on a pedestal, the idea that he could not die, that he could get through anything. He had been in denial for the longest time about the car crash, and now that he was seeing this with his own two eyes, everything crashed down around him.

“Jason!” Dick cried out in alarm, dropping down next to Jason.

At the sound of the commotion, Death looked over. He frowned slightly. He pushed Clark off his shoulder and started walking over.

“Brother… what is wrong?” he asked. He looked from Jason to Dick, his eyes only widening slightly at the sight of a living Dick Grayson, comforting yet another human being.

Life swayed on his feet, his arms quivering under the weight.

Clark also dragged himself over. He draped himself on Death’s shoulder again. “Don’t you get it, Bruce?” Clark asked. “ _He_ gave his soul to bring _you_ back! Because your brother did not have enough power left to bring you back himself.”

Death gave him the strangest look. “Clark, what are you on about?”

“My best friend is dead! What don’t you understand?” he asked, practically hysterical. “He’s _past_ dead!”

Death looked even more confused. He looked at Bruce Wayne’s body, then at Life, who was really struggling not to pass out, then back to Clark. “Dead? He is not dead. Just fainted.”

Clark froze. Jason’s head snapped up.

“Wh-What?” Clark asked, his voice suddenly a low, cold whisper.

“I said-”

“No, no, I heard you,” Clark said, slowly turning his burning red gaze to Life. “He’s _not_ dead?”

Life only blinked slowly once.

Clark’s eyes glowed brighter. Death sighed. “Okay, we’ll solve this later. Good-bye, brother!” With a touch, Death teleported Life away, and safely out of harm’s way.

Life collapsed in the middle of the fountain in his Courtyard. Bruce Wayne landed face down in the water. Life groaned, struggling to pull Bruce’s head out of the water and leaned him against the edge. Then, he sat in the cool water next to human and let his eyes slide shut.

He felt so damn tired today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Last chapter of this story! (Epilogue in two days!
> 
> And it's the first one that didn't end in the death of a main character! Well, it ended with Death, but no one died (yet). I'm kidding, no one's dying. I'm just going to quickly wrap this up and get on with my other stories. I probably won't write any more JayDick in a while (a month, give or take), but that's not never. I may have a couple one-shots or something between that. 
> 
> On that note, if y'all are curious as to what I'm updating, how I'm getting along with my writing, or if you were interested in my daily ramblings, I have moved all that over to my newly reactivated [Tumblr](https://lockedandlokied.tumblr.com/), which I never used before. So yeah, if that's something you're interested in...
> 
> Thanks for reading! Love you all! <3


	9. EPILOGUE: Happily Ever After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THERE ARE 2 BRUCE'S AGAIN!
> 
> I'M SORRY IF THIS CONFUSES PEOPLE, IT'S MY FAULT WHEN I FIRST STARTED THIS SERIES. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME PERSON!!!
> 
> Bruce 1 (w/ Life): Bruce Wayne, Batman, human  
> Bruce 2 (w/ Clark): Death, not human, Life's twin

Bruce Wayne opened his eyes to sharp white light. At first, he thought he was in a hospital. Then, he realized he was not in a hospital, but he was lying a very hard, a bit rough, surface.

He sat up slowly, looking around.

He had been lying (sleeping?) in a completely white courtyard. The courtyard was a large square, open in the middle, with some sort of light, definitely not sunlight coming down from above it. A fountain of white stone took up most of the center. Everything was white, save for the plants planted around the center of the courtyard. Some species, Bruce recognized, some were completely foreign.

Footsteps approached from behind him.

“Hi, you have recovered, I see.”

Bruce turned and double took for a moment. “Oh, Life,” he said. Then, his eyebrows furrowed. “Wait, am I dead? I thought-”

Life laughed softly. “No, you are not dead. Your soul was not destroyed, you are most definitely alive.”

Bruce glanced around him again. “Where am I? This isn’t Death’s Palace, is it? And what happened to Death?”

“My brother is fine,” Life said. “Everyone is fine. Order has been restored to the universe. You have been out for a while.”

“How long?” Bruce asked, still confused.

“About a week in the Otherworlds time,” Life said calmly. “Do not fret. It has only been a couple months on Earth.”

“I’m not worried about that,” Bruce said. “Why am I not dead? I thought you needed to consume a soul.”

“I did,” Life said. “But not completely.”

“So what? You took half my soul?”

“Correct,” Life said. He turned to face Bruce. “I did not need all of your soul.”

“Why?”

“Because you were willing to give it,” Life said. “That made that small portion so much stronger. And it was enough. So you are alive.” Life smiled at Bruce. “If you are feeling better, I can take you back to the Palace. Jason and Clark wish to see you.”

“Jason is still here? Didn’t he got back to Earth yet?”

“He wanted to wait for you. He has been back a couple times for a visit, but he and Dick have been off on their own exploring the Otherworlds recently.”

Bruce was still frowning. “So what now?”

“Well,” Life said. “Since you helped so selflessly, I will give you the chance to live your life once more. If you wish, I will return you to Earth, and you may resume a life there.”

Bruce scoffed. “After being publically dead for seven years? That will be a great idea.” He shook his head. “I’ve already said. I don’t have a place on Earth anymore. It’s the reason why I offered myself up, you know.” He gave Life an annoyed look.

Life rolled his eyes. “Here I was trying to be kind by breaking my rules for some puny human being, and he just sasses me like I do not have the power to smite him into a pile of dust at any given moment.”

“I thought you didn’t like playing God.”

“I _don’t_ ,” Life said. “And I’m _not_. But I do have powers that put me above the likes of you, and therefore, you should watch what to say to my face.”

“Ah, ah,” Bruce said with the beginnings of a smile. “You know, I once knew a man who thought like that.”

“Did you now.”

“Indeed,” Bruce said. “Mm, not a fan.”

“Does it happen to be a man, about yea high, unnaturally green hair, red lips, giant creepy smile?”

Bruce froze. “How did you know?” he asked slowly.

Life laughed. “First time I went to Earth in my human form in a long time, did not bother being invisible, was unfortunate enough to land in a certain Gotham City. Did not have a pleasant welcoming, so to speak. Do not worry,” Life said. “I am not a fan either.”

Bruce gave him a distrustful look. Life raised his hands in defense.

“If it makes you more comfortable,” Life laughed. “I _can_ change my human form. This one is just the one I ‘set as my default’, in  a sense. It takes the least amount of energy to hold this one for long periods of time.”

“You can shift forms?” Bruce asked dubiously.

“Of course.” To prove it, Life shifted. He became a dark skinned man with deep, brown eyes and a blinding white smile. “See? Not everything needs to be white, Bruce. I just like the color. Or… the lack of color.” Life shifted again. He became a short, pretty girl. Life strode over and sat down right next to Bruce, leaning up against him.

“I do not like girl forms,” Life explained in a high pitched, girly voice. “because they make me feel weirdly cramped in certain places.”

He shifted one more time, into a white cat with green eyes. He rubbed himself up against Bruce’s leg, demanding pets. Bruce hesitantly put his hand on the cat’s head, surprised to hear a low purring noise.

After a moment, the cat backed away, and Life shifted one last time. He smiled. “Feeling uncomfortable yet?”

Bruce nodded. “Very.”

Life grinned. “You are welcome, Mr. Wayne.” He became a bit more serious. “However, if you  do not return to Earth, what do you plan to do? You cannot die anymore, not until it is time for you to die again.”

Bruce thought about it. “Don’t you have anyone around here?” he asked.

“At the Courtyard?”

“Yeah.”

“No, I am alone here. I do not like company while I work.”

Bruce snorted. “Liar,” he accused. “You love company. You’re just too proud to admit it.”

“Like you are one to speak,” Life scoffed.

Bruce shrugged, smiling. “Would you be adverse to me staying here with you?”

“Sorry?”

“At the Courtyard. I won’t be returning to Earth anyway. So I can… I don’t know, help out around here. There  must be something for me to do.”

“If I needed help, I would have created some beings to help me,” Life said flatly. “No, that is a horrible idea.”

“You don’t sound disgusted.”

Life glared at him. “No, you are not staying.” He stood up and started walking away briskly.

“Okay,” Bruce called after him. “No take backs. If you don’t want me here, I’ll go back to Earth.”

Life slowed. Then, he spun around on his heels and stomped over to Bruce. “If you stay here, because you only have half a soul left, you will lose half of the memories of your life,” he said. “If you return to Earth, you will be able to keep those memories. Do you really still want to stay?”

“I have no use for those memories anyway on Earth,” Bruce said.

“You could forget your parents, your life on Earth, your legacy, your kids,” Life said. He knew it was hardly possible for Bruce to forget all of that, but he wanted to scare Bruce a bit.

Bruce was silent for a couple moments. “I think I’ll survive.”

Life stared at him with wide, unblinking, green eyes. Then he shook his head.

“I _really_ do not understand you humans and your stubbornness. But I _suppose_ since you _insisted_ so strongly, you may stay.”

"Great. First thing, though, your Courtyard needs some color. May I suggest black? Or a dark, dark, dark navy blue would do well, too..."

~

“Home sweet home,” Jason said, walking through the front doors of the Manor, breathing in the familiar scent. “I love it.”

“I think Alfred made a new batch of cookies,” Dick mused. “I smell cookies.”

Jason rolled his eyes and let Dick drag him into the kitchen, where sure enough, Alfred was pulling out a new batch of cookies out of the oven. They were received warmly by the older man, and Tim caught them up on what happened in Gotham in the past two months.

Jason told Tim and Alfred of what happened to Bruce. Alfred was a bit upset, but Jason said that Bruce had promised to visit sometime in the future.

Appeased, Alfred allowed Dick and Jason access to the cookies.

Later that night, Jason and Dick were curled up in the library, each with a glass of scotch, once again, from Bruce’s stash that Alfred always kept replenished for sentimental reasons. They were lying down on the large couch, Dick on top of Jason.

Dick drew random patterns into Jason’s chest through his t-shirt, and Jason read a book over Dick’s head.

“Your heartbeat is so slow,” Dick said softly. “It’s calming though. I like it.”

Jason smiled, putting his hand on Dick’s head. “I like your heartbeat too, Dickie. Means you’re alive.”

Dick laughed. “I guess it does. I’m glad I’m alive.”

“Yeah? Me too.”

Dick was silent for a long time, absently playing with Jason’s shirt. “Jay,” he said quietly.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t want to die anymore,” Dick whispered. “I don’t want to lose you.”

Jason stopped reading. He stared down at Dick, who refused to meet his gaze. Jason set his book aside and wrapped his other arm around Dick’s head as well, hugging him tightly.

“Dickie, I’ll stay by your side as long as you want me to,” Jason promised. “And I’ll keep staying, even if you don’t want me there anymore.”

“I want you there,” Dick assured. “Stay, Jason.”

Jason smiled weakly, pressing a soft kiss to the top of Dick’s head. “Last time I asked you to do the same, you didn’t listen.”

“Sorry,” Dick whispered. “I won’t again.”

“I know. And I won’t either.”

They lay there, wrapped up together for a while. It was a comforting place for them, in the darkness, close to each other, just being in each other’s presence.

“Jason,” Dick said tiredly. He turned his head up to look at Jason. He smiled softly. “Hey, Jay?”

“Yeah?” Jason asked, yawning. “We should get to bed.”

“Yeah,” Dick said. “But first, do that thing from the movies?” he asked cheekily.

Jason returned his smile and then pressed a long, satisfying kiss Dick’s smile.

“Love you.”

“Love you more.”

“Mm, forever and always, Jay.”

“Forever and always.”

~

“Where the hell is my list?” Bruce, Death, snapped.

“In your room?” Clark pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

Bruce blinked at him. “Oh, right.” He smiled sheepishly at the reaper he yelled at, who was currently quivering with fear. “Sorry. You may be on your way now.”

As the reaper scurried off, Bruce started towards his room. Clark followed. “Don’t you think you’re a bit harsh on them?”

Bruce sighed. “Last time I was nice to them, my head reaper led a rebellion against me.”

Clark shrugged. “One bad person does not dictate that everyone of that species is bad.”

“Yes, I know that, but… I just cannot risk it.”

Clark put a hand on Bruce's shoulder. “Bruce,” he said. “Hey, you’ll be fine now. The rest of the reapers do not have as much power as Thanatos had. You have a new scribe now, and _I’m_ the head of your reapers, despite not actually _being_ a reaper. So unless you think I’ll turn against you, go easier on them.”

Bruce pursed his lips. “You’re pleading on the behalf of my reapers?” he asked.

Clark thought about it for a moment. “Yes.”

Bruce laughed, shaking his head. He leaned over and brushed a kiss on Clark’s cheek. “You’re so weird.” He grabbed his list and started out of his room again.

“I’m serious, B!”

“I know you are,” Bruce said with a smile. “And I will consider it.”

“Oh, okay.” Clark was quiet for a second. Then, he sped up and caught up to Bruce . “Also, you can’t just give me that wimpy kiss and expect me to be satisfied.”

Bruce laughed again, turning back around. He grabbed either side of Clark’s face and pulled him into a deep kiss, holding him there for a long time. A couple reapers turned the corner, saw them, exclaimed loudly and ran off. Clark was beet red at the end.

“Better?” Bruce asked.

“You’re an ass, Bruce,” Clark complained.

They kept going down the hall, back to the throne room.

“Hey,” Bruce said. “I meant to ask you. What do you think of visiting other worlds?”

“What do you mean?” Clark asked.

Bruce shrugged. “You know, other worlds in this universe. Other than Earth.”

“You’re asking me if I want to go?” Clark clarified.

“Yes.”

“Um, yeah, I’d love to!”

Bruce smiled. “Great, because I thought we could take a vacation together.”

“An- An _actual_ vacation? No work at all?”

Bruce nodded. “No work.”

“And you’re comfortable leaving the Palace to your reapers again so soon?” Clark asked dubiously.

“I have a few reapers I trust with the care of my Palace, and they can't really do much with the Palace without me there,” Bruce promised. “So, what do you think?”

Clark smiled. “I think it’s one of your better ideas,” he said.

His husband, Death himself, shoved him lightly, without a second thought about possibly killing Clark with the contact. “You’re an ass too, Clark.”

“Aw, but you love me.”

“Yes, how unfortunate of me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END
> 
> I can't believe I finally finished this series. It's been so much fun to write, and I've gotten so many amazing comments throughout this, and I just want to thank every single person who commented, even if it was just a <3\. You brought a smile to my face each time, and I really hope this ending met your standards! If there's any confusion, I'm happy to explain it all.
> 
> You can also go to my [Tumblr](https://lockedandlokied.tumblr.com/) for updates on stories, my random day-to-day stories, and deep, analytical stuff/behind the scenes kinda stuff for my stories.
> 
> Thank you all for reading this, whether you read only one, two, or all three stories. Love you all! <3
> 
> Until next time,  
> ~Jessica


End file.
